Touring Virginia's Historic Sites, Battlefields, and National Parks

There is so much to see and do while traveling through the state of Virginia. If you are a history buff or an outdoors enthusiast, the number of sites to see and visit are almost endless. 

Our route.

We started our route with a short car ferry ride across the James River to the far shoreline where the settlement of Jamestown, the birthplace of America, is located. It was here in Jamestown in 1607, (not, as many of us were taught,  Plymouth Rock in New England in 1620), that John Smith and 103 of his fellow colonists established the first successful, permanent, and English-speaking settlement in what would become the British colonies and later, of course, the United States (St. Augustine, in present day Florida, was the first Spanish-speaking settlement established some 40 years earlier). 

John Smith.

Palisades on one side of the recreated fort. 

For these colonists, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for they sometimes lived a grim existence. While at one point the colony grew to as many as 300 people, the population fell to 60 people due to disease, famine, and an ocassional attack from nearby indigenous peoples. The population rebounded with John Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas and the peace amongst the neighboring tribes that ensued. There were still some tough times ahead, but Jamestown would thrive and remain the Virginia colony capital until 1699. 

Pocahontas.

Being only a short five miles away and better situated, the town of Williamsburg became the colony's capital in 1699 and would remain that way until 1780 when it was once again moved to Richmond. We overnighted in Williamsburg taking the time to explore this historic city in which Washington, Jefferson, Monroe and other founding fathers had spent some time.

While it was interesting to walk the streets and take in the colonial era architecture, we were somewhat disappointed with our visit. The area has succumbed to a degree of "disneyfication" that was off-putting and which took away from what could otherwise be a more authentic experience. 

Our visit to nearby Yorktown the following morning was cut short due to a strong line of thunderstorms that pelted the area just before noon. A shame, really, for we would have liked to have spent a good deal of time to walk the battlefiels. We did, however, get to drive through the various sites and areas where American, French, and British troops fought, encamped and recuperated both before and after the battles and sieges that culminated in Cornwallis's surrender of his British army at Moore House. This seminal event was the beginning of the end of British rule in the colonies leading to the birth of the United States of America.

Moore House. 

Onwards we drove to Fredericksburg and the various nearby Civil War battlefields. 

In late 1862, Lee's and Longstreet's Confederate forces decimated Burnside's Union ranks when wave after wave of the blue-clad soldiers were mowed down by the rebel forces from the top of Marye's Heights and from behind the stone wall paralleling the Sunken Road. Walking amongst the lanes and fields where the most fiercest fighting occured, one can't help from being overwhelmed with a visceral emotion knowing you are walking on grounds where thousands of men died where your footsteps now tread. 

Depiction of the destruction of the City of Fredericksburg before the major battles to come. 

Confederate troops fired down from Marye's Heights (to the left) and from behind this stone wall along the Sunken Road (where MK is standing) toward the Union soldiers who advanced from the right. Further off of the right side of this photo are modern day homes that grew from a once smaller City of Fredericksbrug. They are located on some of the fields not otherwised preserved and where thousands died. I couldn't live there, could you? It just doesn't seem right. 

The Innis House was caught in the middle of the fierce fighting. You can still see the bullet holes lining some of the walls. 

The National Cemetery where many are buried. Those that were able to be identified lie beneath the taller markers. Those not identified, sometimes as many as three of four soldiers, were buried under the smaller markers where nothing but the plot number and the number of interred are carved into the stone. 

In May, 1863, Robert E. Lee won what is considered to be his greatest victory at Chancellorsville. But, it was a costly victory for Lee. Stonewall Jackson, his most valued general, was out on a nighttime reconnaisance when one of his own soldiers shot him after mistaking him for the enemy. He would later die from infection and fever arising from his wounds and the amputation of his left arm. 

A model of the Chancellor house, which gave Chancelorsville its name. It burned to the ground during the battle. 

The foundation is all that remains. 

Heavy traffic of cars and trucks now speed past the site. I wonder how many of the drivers know they are traversing hallowed ground?

Depiction of Stonewall Jackson being shot by his own troops. 

Emboldened by his victories, Lee took his army north out of Virginia, crossed over Maryland, and ended up in Pennsylvannia where he would be confronted with the July, 1863 battle that would turn the tides against him - Gettysburg. 

By 1864, Ulysses S. Grant had taken command of the Union army and began what is referred to as the Overland Campaign at the Battle of The Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvannia Court House. Unlike his predecessors, he was relentless in his pursuit and weakening of the Confederate army. While these were not decisive victories for the Union, the battles did serve hammer away at the dwindling resources of the Confederacy.  

Much of the Battle of the Wilderness occured in the deep woods where limited lines of sight caused chaos and confusion. 

We were on foot again to walk amongst the fields where thousands of men died, in this instance at the battlefield of Spotsylvannia Court House which, according to historians "embodied all the horrors of civil war." 

The war's most intense and brutal hand-to-hand and close combat occured at what is called "The Bloody Angle," depicted here is this painting at the Spotsylvannia visitor's center. The trenches and earthworks where this occurred are still seen today. 

These four battles alone acounted for 105,000 combined Union and Confederate casualties. To sum up our experience at these battlefields, a quote from the National Park Service's literature says it best: "Today, the battlefields are quiet, and it is difficult to grasp that here, four horrendous battles were fought. The NPS is committed to preserving and protecting these treasured landscapes so visitors can experience and gain an understanding of the ground where men clashed in this great defining event of American history." 

Our continued travels took us through lush and gorgeous Virginia countryside to Charlottesville where, only a few miles out of town, sits Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home and estate. 

At age 21, Jefferson, who would later author the Declaration of Indendence and become our third president, inherited several thousand acres of property after the passing of his father. Four years later, in 1768, he began construction on the home which would be decades in its development. 

Being a self-taught student of architecture, Jefferson designed the home and its interiors himself, being largely influenced by what he saw during his European travels as a U.S. diplomat. 

In addition to being the site of his residence, Monticello was also a working plantation, home to 130 enslaved people, including one Sally Hemings, with whom Jefferson fathered six children. 

I highly recommend a visit to Monticello, an important, and at times complicated, part of American history. 

Jefferson's grave. 

A Jefferson impersonator gave us a 30 minute history lesson on Jefferson and Monticello. 

Our last stop in our journeys through Virginia was at Shenandoah National Park. This was our third visit to the park. Unlike our previous visits here, when we day-hiked the northern and central portions of the park, this time we took in the southern portion with an approach from the entrance station near Waynesboro on the Skyline Drive. 

At this point, we were running short on time so we only spent a day and a half here doing short day-hikes ranging from two to seven miles in length.

A two-mile round trip took us over open meadows, through some forested areas, and then to the top of Calf Mountain. Others were there when we arrived having set up a tarp to keep out of the sun. 

Another short hike took us across the Skyline Drive and up to the top of Bear Den Mountain. While someone in years past thoughtfully installed old tractor seats, the view from them has since been obscured by overgrowth and invasive species. That plus the cluster of communicatons towers at the top made for a less than pleasing hike. 

Our favorite hike was he seven mile loop along the Jones and Doyles rivers and then along a short length of the Appalachian Trail back to our car. What made this hike special were the various waterfalls and swift currents in the trail's adjoining rivers. What's also nice is that our mid-spring walks occured before the leaves on the trees had fully emerged, making the views throughout the forest unobscured. 

A three mile round trip to the top of Turk Mountian finished off our day-hiking at Shenandoah. Low hanging clouds threatened rain so we quickly ascended the trail to make it to the top before the skies opened up. Near the top, one has to scramble over jagged rocks and rounded boulders if you are to make it to the true summit. 

We were more than pleased with our trip through Virginia. Being from the Midwest, we tend to travel to points west and forget all that is available in our part of the country east of the Appalachians. And there is so much more to see than that described here in this trip report. We will have to sit a spell and contemplate where in the eastern U.S. we will go to next. 

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